Refrigeration, what & where?

T37Chef · **Posted:** 15 Oct 2011 13:31

Thanks Timshel, I have inquired on that forum as well, great resource.

I am also looking at an Isotherm SP System, cost is less than a frigoboat, but more than the Norcold, and uses an exhisting thru hull to cool the condensor, similar to the Frigoboat.

What made you decide to go with the Sea Frost?

Tortuga's Lie · **Joined:** 27 Oct 2006 10:32 **Posts:** 827

Chef,
A couple of years ago, I installed the Keelcooler Fridgoboat and it's been flawless so far and I think (I actually don't have a proper battery monitor) that is consumes about 50 AH's a day. I have two135 Kyocera's and a Ampair 100 wind genny. My battery bank is four 6-volt golf carts and so far, my electrical demand as not exceeded my supply....hopefully this will remain true after I add a few more goodies.. I bought a Xantrex Link Pro at the boat show from Defender at a pretty good discount, so I wil soon be able to determine my amp-hour consumption.
Going back to the fridge......I wound up buying a used but still very good BD35 compressor and brand new Fridgoboat keelcooler and evaporator bin, dial thermostat and connecting tubing etc...from a guy in Deltaville that buys from Climate Control in Annapolis. He only charged me $700 for everything. So you might be able to contact him but I will need to sort through my stuff to find his number. PM me if you're interested.
Another option is to buy all of the components seperately from a place like R-Parts.....
http://rparts.com/

Good luck...
Tom
P.S.****disclaimer****
I have no affiliation or interest in any of the above business' mentioned.

Tortuga's Lie · **Joined:** 27 Oct 2006 10:32 **Posts:** 827

Chef,
A couple of years ago, I installed the Keelcooler Fridgoboat and it's been flawless so far and I think (I actually don't have a proper battery monitor installed, yet!) that is consumes about 50 AH's a day. I have two135 Kyocera's and a Ampair 100 wind genny. My battery bank is four 6-volt golf carts and so far, my electrical demand as not exceeded my supply....hopefully this will remain true after I add a few more goodies.. I bought a Xantrex Link Pro at the boat show from Defender at a pretty good discount, so I wil soon be able to determine my amp-hour consumption.
Going back to the fridge......I wound up buying a used but still very good BD35 compressor and brand new Fridgoboat keelcooler and evaporator bin, dial thermostat and connecting tubing etc...from a guy in Deltaville that buys from Climate Control in Annapolis. He only charged me $700 for everything. So you might be able to contact him but I will need to sort through my stuff to find his number. PM me if you're interested.
Another option is to buy all of the components seperately from a place like R-Parts.....
http://rparts.com/

Good luck...
Tom
P.S.****disclaimer****
I have no affiliation or interest in any of the above business' mentioned.

Timshel · **Joined:** 29 Dec 2010 10:24 **Posts:** 191

To answer your question, I decided on sea frost because,pretty much everybody uses the same BD compressor, Cleave,the owner of sea frost has a good reputation, is fairly close to me, and I examined some units at a boat show and they appeared nicely made, Not very scientific ! Regards Bruce.

Down2TheC · **Posted:** 29 Nov 2011 00:18

Man, I need to look in on this forum during the season more. CU100 Waeco. It was an exact replacement of the Adler unit that died so no major modifications were needed. First one lasted 24 seasons so I didn't see the need to change things. We set it to "5" and it freezes in the box and keeps the farthest point at 40deg.
Compressor is on a shelf in the back of the cabinet under the sink.

Anyone still looking for a deal on a lighter unit, see my post of half price unused Coolmatic 85 in the for sale section.

JDLanglais · **Joined:** 27 Jun 2007 11:23 **Posts:** 40

Happy new year all !

On Nemea we did improve on the stock Icebox few years ago before going out on our 2010 sabbatical year living on board and we are completely satisfied with our fridge setup.
First I've re-insulated the Icebox from the interior side adding about 3 inches of laminated styrofoam at the bottom of the icebox and 2 inches all around. Far less trouble than tearing apart the galley to re-insulate from the exterior.

While re-insulating I made an insulated partition separating the icebox in two making a colder section for storing freezed goods (and for making icecubes on the cold plate). The partition is perforated on top and have a small 3 inch computer electric fan thermostatically controled for circulating air between the "freezer" and the rest of the icebox.

Then I made a new insulated icebox lid from wood, fiberglass, formica and 3 1/2 inches of styrofoam insulation. The previous ones were only one inch thick and not appropriate.

After I ordered a cold plate kit from EZ Kold, consisting of one big stainless steel holding plate and a BD50F Danfross 12V compressor. The compressor runs at full speed and is controlled by an electronic thermostat. The compressor is installed in the cockpit right storage on the wall adjacent to the galley.

Overall we lost maybe a cubic foot of storage but anyway the icebox was far too large in my opinion. Now we have about 4 cubic foot of cold storage onboard.

Attachment:

File comment: The completed icebox project

DSC01014.JPG [ 2.54 MB | Viewed 0 times ]

Tortuga's Lie · **Joined:** 27 Oct 2006 10:32 **Posts:** 827

Nice job,
Is that Starboard that you lined the interior with or something similar?

JDLanglais · **Joined:** 27 Jun 2007 11:23 **Posts:** 40

Hello Tom,
Actually I used regular pink styrofoam epoxied on one side white formica; cut them to make pannels and glued them to the fiberglass walls of the icebox. Not difficult but took me many hours to make them fit perfectly. Almost look factory made icebox.
If I was to do it again I would have put two cold plates intead of one in the freezer compartment.

jvoelxen · **Joined:** 21 Oct 2006 15:36 **Posts:** 268

Great job!!! I think I have a new project this winter. How did you make the cover? Looks like it's one piece. How did you make the rounded corners? Where did you get the seals? Any further details would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Jim
Odyssey #191

sord · **Posted:** 01 Feb 2012 09:37

Since this topic has been revived - Has anyone tried injecting foam insulation through amll holes arround the ice box? I have tried to remove the icebox but you have to destroy the Galley Frustrating

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Refrigeration, what & where?

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